Betray Thine District
by CelloNinjaAngel
Summary: 3 tributes, Katniss, Cato, and Finch, made a deal with the Capitol before the Games. They would find and kill President Snow when nobody else was left. But one more survived, and shattered the entire plan and endangered their lives. Gale Hawthorne. ON HIATUS
1. Chapter 1: The Mentors

**Cato POV**

I sat in the stadium, adrenaline pumping in my veins causing me to want to jump out of my seat. Somehow, the entire District 2 managed to fit in the huge stadium, but I felt so cramped next to more fidgety boys. Well, at least I knew it would happen. It always did. Half of the stadium in which the reaping happened was filled with these boys, and the exasperated fathers.

On the other side of the stadium, the girls, and the mothers sat, looking dreamily at us boys. A smile grew on my face. Maybe that was why a female rarely ever won the Hunger Games. They were too focused on shagging than winning.

Finally, the Capital hovercraft touched down on the large stadium, and all the boys, including me, cheered. Iris Kornegay, the escort of the District 2 tributes, stepped out, waving to the stadium.

"Good morning, everyone!" she smiled, while all males stared. Even I had to admit, she was beautiful, with shoulder-length light olive-green hair and matching eyes. All cameras focused on her. Unlike other Capitol citizens, she had a normal fashion sense, and wore the training outfitrs that all tributes wore. She smirked, then beckoned the pilot to bring out two golden pots.

"Is it time?" she called to our mayor.

The cameras focused on Iris swiveled to our mayor as he nodded, then swiveled immediately back to Iris' beautiful face.

"Ladies first," she called, addressing the Hunger Games tradition. She placed her slender fingers into one of the pots. The cameras quickly zoomed there. Iris suddenly pulled a slip, waving it to the silent crowd, and then read the name clearly, "Clove Smith!"

"No!" I whispered.

I had been hoping for somebody like the tribute last year, whom had spent her entire time in the arena trying pathetically to woo her fellow tribute. Clove was not that kind of girl. She was a fairly close friend of mine, and spent much of her time in the training hall, almost as much time as I did.

"Now for the boys," Iris' voice brought me back from my thoughts. Like before, she had her hand in the pot for a long time before swiftly pulling out a small slip of paper. Anticipation gnawed on my stomach. She stalled for a long time, and I had a feeling she already knew the name she would say, "Cato Allen!"

Clove's eyes widened as I jogged to the other side of Iris.

"Ladies and gentleman, the tributes of District 2!"

She led us to the train station before the crowd was allowed to leave. Capitol guards surrounded us.

Iris tried to break the silence, "I love District 2," she sighed contentedly, "Other districts are too peaceful for me," that grabbed my attention. Clove also faced her suddenly.

"Aren't Capitol citizens supposed to be peaceful and lighthearted?" Clove asked, "I mean, their fashion sense seems to scream that out."

I gave her a warning glance, and she realized what she had said.

"Yes," Iris replied dryly, "That is why Capitol citizens take part in reenactments of the most violent TV show ever. That's why we watch the Games with enthusiasm," then, she smiled jokingly, "What? You think my training suit is peaceful and lighthearted? Wait until you have to wear this. You'll be training for your life."

There was only one other district in the train, obviously District 1, whom we would most likely ally with. The female tribute had long blonde hair and blue eyes. The male tribute had brown hair and hazel eyes. I rolled my eyes discreetly. District 1 was always soft, and the only reason why we allied with them was because the Capitol favored them. However, I knew, if I got into a fight with one of them, I would win. District 4 was probably our best ally.

Clove was probably thinking the same thing as I was, "Softies!" she sneered, "Capitol pampered brats! We'll use you for a little bit, and then we'll see how it goes."

We ran to our compartment on the train, and it began to move.

"So, who do you want to ally with?" Clove asked, "Obviously the Careers, but who else?"

She was trying to distract herself, I could see that. I just had to take my mind off killing her. I decided to go along with her average efforts.

"Maybe 3, we have to look at them first," I replied, which was a mistake. I should have dragged the conversation along, instead of ending it, giving the horrifying thoughts to flow through my head again.

At that moment, a middle-aged man burst into the compartment. Clove and I stood up respectfully. We knew he was one of our mentors, Abelard Maclay. Famous for his strength, he was a fan of breaking people with his bare hands.

"We wait for one more," he grunted, sitting down on an arm chair across from us.

We nodded, sitting back down in our own arm chairs. Suddenly, the door opened again, and this time, Iris stepped in. only she didn't seem like Iris. She had dark violet hair, almost black that was long and straight, and matching eyes. Somehow, she seemed even more beautiful than before. But why was she training us? I ran all the victors of District 2 in my head. There was nobody name Iris, nor looked like her. However, she looked familiar. Was I having déjà vu all the sudden? I stole a glance at Clove, and she had a puzzled expression on her face.

"There are many victors of District 2, as you know, but we will be the ones training you. The others do not want to." Abelard growled, taking a swig some liquid that a server had brought him.

"Excuse me," I burst out, "But I never knew Iris was a District 2 victor," I clamped my mouth shut, immediately regretting my words.

I expected a good cuff from the large man, but instead, he burst of laughing, "You are right. Iris is not a victor of District 2," he emphasized her name, "But she is a victor."

She nodded, speaking for the first time on the train, "Abelard is right," she agreed softly, "Iris is not a victor," that only confused me and Clove more, "What I mean is, Iris is only my public name. No tribute that I have trained realized this. Well done. My real name is Pippa, but I hated that name. So I simply changed it," looking at our faces, she quickly added, "I was forced to use the name Pippa during the Games when I won."

I remembered, "You were just 12 when you won! I remember, you won the 71st Hunger Games, didn't you? So you're," I tried to do the math, "17 years old."

"Not bad," she beamed, "Anyways, just for today, I'll train them, Abelard, because they know me so well."

He didn't look happy, but he reluctantly stood up, grunting, and left the room.

Clove was silent the entire time, and finally spoke up, "I remember when you were reaped. Cato and I were both 12, like you, and I felt so terrible. I was so glad when you won," she paused for a moment, "So what can we call you?"

"Anything you want," she smiled, "You earned it."

"I'll call you Iris, if that's what you prefer," I replied, and Clove nodded.

"That's fine with me," she agreed, then stared around the room, as if she was looking for something, "I have to tell you something, but I couldn't tell it to you with Abelard right there."

We instinctively leaned closer to hear the secret.

"I didn't win because of speed or cunning. That's what most people think, and I let them think that. I won't let them know the truth," she sucked in a breath, "Every tribute could win if they cooperated," I tilted my head slightly, "If every tribute loved enough to never give up on someone, and killed themselves for love, then there would be no victor, in the end. The Capitol would be destroyed," Clove narrowed her eyes, "But that's not how you will win. I won because of love. I truly cared for them. I had alliances, and I refused to break them. No matter how hard they tried, they failed to kill me. They knew I loved them. I don't know if this will work for you. But you mustn't break the strongest alliances. You must keep them… to your ally's death."

Clove's eyes widened, and my heart thumped. What did that mean?

She sighed when she saw our bewildered faces, "Just remember this, all right?" she looked out the window, "It's time for you two to sleep. Don't complain!" she snapped when she saw our horrified faces, "You'll thank me later."

"But-but it's only sunset!" I stuttered.

"Tomorrow's going to be a long day. During the night some other district tributes will get on. You will be treated by your specialists tomorrow, and you will be in the parade. Trust me. You will thank me with all your heart."

Grumbling, we walked into our room.

"At least there's two beds," I joked.

Her smile seemed forced, but I pretended not to mind. We climbed into our separate beds, and to my surprise, I fell asleep easily.

I had been dreaming about the previous games, and suddenly, a piercing scream broke through my slumber. I could recognize this scream anywhere. _Clove!_ I jerked awake, and when I looked at the bed next to mine, my heart lurched. Abelard had a knife pressed under her chin, her mouth covered, and was whispering something too soft for me to here.

"Cato!" she managed to scream before her mouth was covered even more.

"Shut up!" our mentor growled, "or prepare to have the knife deeper in your throat, and your eyes glazed forever!"

"I thought we weren't allowed to fight before the Games started," I commented as naturally as I could.

"Do you think the rules apply to me, boy?" he smiled, his ugly yellow teeth flashing.

I took a step back, as he applied more pressure to Clove's throat. Her eyes glistened with tears, but she didn't let them fall. Blinking a couple times, she looked at me pleadingly. A thin stream of crimson blood flowed down her throat. I wanted to pull out my special knife that was always concealed under my clothes, but I couldn't let them know yet. Quickly, Abelard sheathed the knife, his eyes narrowed.

"Iris will not mentor you. I am your true mentor, and will always be," he growled, "You will listen to nobody but me."

Suddenly, he was gone.

**A/N: Please review!**


	2. Chapter 2: This Can't Be Happening to Me

**A/N: I know that you are probably bored after reading just one reaping. I have to admit, I will do a District 12 reaping, but it'll be really short. I promise. Please review! Disclaimer: Everything that looks familiar is from the great Suzanne Collins.**

**Katniss**

The cold air whipped around me, and I clasped Prim even closer. We were standing in a line to get to the clearing of the reaping. I wasn't looking forward to it. Gale and I had said our farewells only a couple minutes ago, yet it seemed like an eternity. I shrugged my doubts away. Our names would not be reaped. At least, not Prim's.

I wouldn't let it happen. She was my sister, only 12 years old. No 12 year old ever won, except once, in the 71st Hunger Games. But the girl had been from District 2! Prim was desperately trying to hide her fear, but I could see right through her thin emotional wall.

"It's okay, Prim. You're not going to get picked, I promise," I hugged her tightly, and she hugged me back.

I could see Gale on the other side of the clearing when we managed to get to the front of the line. He nodded reassuringly to us.

From a hovercraft that had touched down earlier, our tribute escort, Effie Trinket, stepped out daintily. I rolled my eyes. Her extremely terrible sense of Capitol fashion drove me crazy, but to be fair, almost everything drove me crazy around the time of reaping.

"Good morning!" she smiled, "The Capitol train will be arriving shortly, so we should do the reaping quickly!"

Two goldfish bowls were brought out, one for the girls, and one for the boys. They were filled with slips of paper that contained names.

"Ladies first, obviously," she pulled out a name from one of the bowls. She smiled, "Katniss Everdeen!"

No! It couldn't be happening. Prim screamed my name over and over again, and I held her tightly, my chest tight and numb. This could not be happening.

"Hush, hush, hush," I whispered to Prim, pressing her against me. I turned around and faced my mother. Silent tears streamed down her face, and I knew she was thinking of Father, "It's fine, Prim."

Effie beckoned impatiently to me, and I was dragged up to the platform, and Prim screamed my name again. In the boy's half of the clearing, I could see Gale's face.

_No, Gale! _I thought. _You can't volunteer just to protect me, you can't! _

"Boy's turn!" Effie's high pitched and annoying voice took me from my desperate thoughts back to the reaping, "Peeta Mellark!"

I stiffened. My heart pounded, not for myself, but for Gale. He couldn't volunteer! He just couldn't!

Peeta walked as bravely as he could to the platform, until suddenly, a familiar voice rang out through the clearing.

"I volunteer as tribute," Gale looked determinedly at me, "I volunteer as a tribute of District 12."

"No," I choked out, then stopped myself from saying anything else. I wanted to cry, but I couldn't. I knew that other tributes would watch this, and I wasn't going to make myself look weak.

"Oh?" Effie asked, puzzled, "Then come up!"

Peeta seemed confused as guards dragged him off the platform, and as Gale was brought back up, but he had enough sense to not say anything. Gale avoided my gaze now that I was closer to him.

"Let me present to you, the tributes of District 12!" Effie remained cheerful.

We were dragged away to the train station, and even though I was far away, I could hear Prim's desperate cries. My heart was numb. Prim and Mother may die of depression, and Gale may die, and I could die. I couldn't speak the entire walk to the shabby train station. However, I tried to look strong as I climbed on the train. I knew that other tributes were watching us, the last tributes closely.

Effie dropped us off in a dining compartment, and as the train started moving, and after Effie was gone, I slammed Gale against the wall. I knew he was stronger than me, but I had caught him off guard.

"How could you!" I hissed, his face a mask of fear, "How could you volunteer for me, when it was already hard enough?"

"I had to protect you," he managed to keep his voice steady. Quickly, he pushed me back, away from him.

"How am I supposed to live when you're going to die, and the only way for you to live is for me to die?" I tried to remain calm, but it was hard.

"I'm not going to let you die, Katniss," he whispered, "I came to protect you until the end."

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't stop the tears flowing down my cheeks. He wiped them off lightly, then turned away.

"We have to stop, Gale," my voice quivered, "We have to look strong."

He nodded, "You're right," his voice dropped an octave, as usual when he was upset or trying to keep calm, "We have to look strong, or we'll be targeted."

"Wise choices," we jumped as a male voice suddenly boomed, and we turned to see the compartment door wide open, and a middle-aged man standing in front of it, holding a bottle of something we suspected was alcoholic. Suddenly, without warning, the man began to chug whatever substance was in the bottle.

After he drained the entire bottle, he blinked his eyes sleepily, and waving his arms like a demented bird, "Why are you on this train?" he tried to sound threatening, but his voice was slurred, and it only caused us to try to smother our giggles and look serious, "You're not supposed to be on train!"

"I'm going to take care of him, Katniss," Gale replied quietly, "Just stay here for a little bit, all right?"

I opened my mouth to protest, but I stayed quiet. Gale led the man away from the compartment. I collapsed on the armchair, exhaustion from stress creeping into me. _Stay strong, _I commanded myself. When we arrived at the Capitol a little while later, we would have to be styled, and thrown into a parade in the street. I had to remain strong. With these thoughts, I waited for my best friend and the man to come back.

The door finally opened again, as Gale and the man stepped in.

"This is Haymitch, our mentor," Gale announced as he sat down at the dinner table next to me.

"Hello," I nodded curtly. Even if he had won the Hunger Games, the vision from earlier had lowered my opinion of my mentor.

"Hello," his voice sounded steadier, and had more authority, "So, I'm supposed to teach you, correct?" he rang a bell I had never noticed before, and a server came scurrying in, "What I normally have," he snapped.

A few seconds later, the same server scurried back, and handed Haymitch his bottle. Right before he snatched the bottle, Gale rolled his eyes and stabbed the steak knife into the table, shaking it and spilling some drink. Haymitch snarled once, and then reached for it again, when I slammed my knife right between his hand and the bottle. He growled, and Gale threw his knife at the bottle, and it shattered into tiny little pieces. Haymitch immediately went berserk. He attacked Gale first, when I threw my knife near his head. It whisked past it, and hit the wall behind. He stared at the wall, and Gale counterattacked, pinning Haymitch down. Gale struggled, for Haymitch was larger than him, and I tossed him the knife. He pressed against his throat. Haymitch lay limp as he realized he had been beaten.

"Let me up, youngster," he growled, "I will teach you," Gale obliged, and stood up, "In a couple hours, you will be styled by your stylists, to get ready for the Tribute Parade. You must act desirable. You must obtain sponsors, and sponsors come from them liking you, and having a good feel about you. Listen to me, and you have a chance."

So we spent the rest of the train ride listening to our mentor's wise advice.

**A/N: It'll start getting more interesting by the next chapters or so. I stole a couple ideas from Suzanne Collins, I think you know that already, but I changed it a little, since Gale is here.**


	3. Chapter 3: First Sight

Chapter 3: First Sight

**A/N: This will be a long chapter, I have to admit, all in Cato's perspective. In the next chapter, I'll include the beginning in Katniss AND Cato's perspective, so the training will go by pretty quickly. Disclaimer: Every familiar object (i.e. quotes, characters, settings, etc.) is a property of the EPIC Suzanne Collins!**

I let out a low growl as another sheet of something sticky was ripped from my legs. They called this "waxing," these stupid Capitol people.

"We're not done yet," one of my stylists, whatever her name was, chirped cheerfully in that idiotic Capitol accent. Gritting my teeth, I stared up at the CCTV of all the tributes getting syled.

As a Career, I got many luxuries, and the CCTV was one of them. I looked at each tributes closely, and somehow, the District 12 girl got my attention. She had long brown hair, and I thought she had grey hair, we couldn't be sure with the tiny picture. My hormones were running wild. After seeing 11 other naked girls being styled, I had to admit, 12 was pretty. She was enduring the same thing I was.

Finally, the stylists stopped torturing me, and a man entered, and stood next to the bed I was laying in. he studied me closely, and smiled.

"You and your girl are perfect for the costumes we have for you," he nodded, "Just wait and see."

I got to meet Clove again after I changed into Sparta armor. She looked identical to me, with her brown hair tied in a simple ponytail.

The parade was painstakingly long, and filled with cheering Capitol idiots. We tried to look desirable, smiled, and blew kisses. Anything was thrown at us. We were showered by notes, flowers, and other things that I didn't want to think about. We rode extremely slowly in front of President Snow. Finally, when District 12 ended up in front of him, he stood up.

"Let us cheer for our tributes of the 76th Hunger Games!" everyone cheered.

I kept stealing glances at the cute 12 female. I was right about the brown hair and the grey eyes. She looked at me once, then looked away. She was wearing a black one-suit, with synthetic fire ignited on the chariot. Her hair was pulled up in a complicated way. In other words, she looked stunning. I sighed. Too bad I had to kill her.

When I arrived in my room, I realized that Iris had been right. This parade was extremely exhausting. I collapsed on the bed, when Clove entered as well.

"At least there's two beds," she joked dully, as she collapsed onto her own bed.

"Yeah," I agreed wearily.

I jumped out of bed, however, and began to walk out when I saw Clove giving me a puzzled look.

"I want to go train," I explained, "You can keep resting," she nodded, and relaxed again.

When I got to the training hall, the first thing I noticed was the singing. An obviously female voice was singing an unfamiliar song, something about meadows and resting. I wasn't paying any attention to the words, I could only focus on the voice. The only other person here was the District 12 girl, and she was sitting on the net used to practice climbing at the ceiling. I knew I could never get up there, so instead, I decided to stay down and not make a fool of myself.

"What's your name?" I blurted out. The girl immediately stopped her song, and unsheathed her long knife. It was used for practice, but the only difference between a real knife and a practice knife was that the practice knife had the word PRACTICE in capital letters.

She was silent, so I repeated the question.

"Katniss Everdeen," she replied coolly, "Who are you?"

She asked! A thrill of joy coursed through me. Curse my damn hormones! "I'm Cato Allen."

"Oh," she sneered, "The Career, right? District 2," she continued, "Just so you know, I'm not going to bow down and kiss your feet right now."

I flinched, as she smirked. She relaxed again, and leaned back against a wooden pole. I sighed. Trial #1. Why did I want her so much? I had to kill her anyways.

"I don't expect you to," I replied, as smoothly as possible, "I just want an alliance."

That got her attention, "Why don't you ally with the other Careers, instead of an old coal miner's daughter?"

"Because I think I should," I almost stuttered, but regained control again.

She shrugged, "All right," but her eyes told a different story, full of sadness.

"What's wrong?" I asked, pain stabbing through my heart. Had I hurt her somehow? And why did I even care?

"No," she replied quickly, the sadness disappearing, "It's nothing. I can't be known as your ally," her eyes narrowed slightly.

"Why not?" I wanted to wail.

"They'll target me, idiot," she hissed, "I'll ally with you, but you must not tell anybody else. All right?"

I nodded. Inside, I wanted to scream out with joy. The thing was, I didn't know why.

I threw the knife with all my strength at the training dummy. It hit its "heart," and I received applause from my fellow Careers. District 12 and I had never spoken after the creation of the unlikely alliance. I had kept my word, without speaking about the alliance to anybody, even Iris, whom I trusted immensely. Tomorrow was when we entered the arena and today was the day of the interview. I didn't really care much about it.

I had paid close attention to Katniss. She had been chosen, and apparently, her best friend had volunteered to protect her in the games. Gale, I thought his name was. She was protective of her young sister, whom had been present at the reaping and looked nothing like her. I shook my head, trying to shake out thoughts about Katniss.

I retrieved another spear, and was about to throw it, when a silver arrow hit the mark first. I looked back, about to snarl at whoever did that, when a blur whisked across the training hall and up the hanging net. The figure stopped once, and I caught sight of the culprit: Katniss Everdeen. Her fellow tribute, her best friend, watched her go up. I rushed to her, to act normal, and I tripped on a snare made by Gale. I snarled, and rushed to him. I pinned him down, my spear an inch from his throat.

"I thought we weren't allowed to fight before the Games started," a familiar voice called. I flinched. I remembered the night in the train, exactly what I had told Abelard. Did I just seem like my mentor? Regret flowed into my chest like a tidal wave. I immediately let her best friend up, and he narrowed his eyes.

"Come on, Gale. Let's go back up. We have to get ready for the interview," she led her friend away to the elevators.

The interviews ended without much trouble, and I found myself in the training hall, long after everyone else was asleep. That is, except for Katniss. A little bit after I made a couple good shots, the elevators opened again, and Katniss stepped out.

"We meet again," I joked, and she nodded curtly.

"I go to the nets to relax," she explained as she climbed up the nets and sat there, staring out into space. She was so beautiful, moonlight bathing her ivory skin.

I continued throwing spears, when again; a knife shot the bull's eye before I could throw. I smiled up at the nets, at the smiling face of Katniss Everdeen.

"I caught you, again," she smiled, as she jumped lightly off the nets, walked calmly to me, took the knife out of the dummy, and put it in its sheathe.

"What do you think the arena will be like this year?" I asked, just to keep a conversation up.

"I hope it's not desert, or mountainous," she replied, wrinkling her nose in concentration.

"So how long are we going to keep the alliance?" I wondered out loud, "There can be only one victor…"

"Are you sure?" she smiled slyly, as I stared in confusion, "Haven't you ever noticed that the Capitol is more lenient in Games right before the Quarter Quell?"

"No," I was more confused than ever.

"Take for instance," she went on, "in the 49th games, they gave away many more objects, such as weapons falling from the sky every day, food, expensive medicine, everything you needed," she paused, "And in the 24th Hunger Games," she smiled triumphantly, "There were _two _winners."

I knew about the 49th games, but I never watched any games before 30 because the film was old, and it wasn't as interesting as the recent ones.

"Really?" I asked, intrigued.

"Really."

"What about Gale?" I stepped into dangerous territory for her.

Her volume dropped, "He already made a choice to die after protecting me. I don't think I'll be able to stop him."

I didn't go on.

"Tomorrow is the Games, Cato. I feel so afraid. I don't want to die. I don't want to just be a part of their games. I want to make a lasting impact."

I had to admit, I didn't understand anything. Why would she not be part of their games? I decided to just stop the conversation there. I was getting good at those things.

**A/N: Katniss stole Peeta's quote, but I really loved it, so I decided to use it, even with Peeta being an extremely minor character. I promise it's going to get more interesting as the story moves along. I've been trying to move the boring parts along fairly quickly. It's weird how I get more favorites than reviews. This means, REVIEW, people! **


	4. Chapter 4: Run Away

Chapter 4: Run Away

**A/N: I know you might be a little bored with Cato POV, but this is a must. I promise the Katniss POV will be very interesting. Disclaimer: Any similar plot points and characters in this story belong to the EPIC Suzanne Collins!**

**Cato POV**

For the first time, since that day when I was 6, I felt fear. It was cold as ice, and heavy as the largest boulder in the world. My body tried as hard as it could to vomit it up, but fear was only a feeling.

A Capitol employee had just inserted a tracker in my forearm when my feet had just touched the floor of the hovercraft. I suddenly missed the silly Capitol accents, and the crazy fashions. My pilot was the opposite of that. Fear grew in my chest.

A hand seemed to clutch my chest, making my breathing labored. I just wanted to go back to the arena, see people who may have been feeling the same thing as me. The pilot seemed to fly the plane slowly on purpose, to make me more nervous, and to make more of a show. It was vomit-inducing.

At last, through the hazy window of the Capitol hovercraft, I thought I saw the arena, and I was right. The hovercraft landed, and I jogged into a building. My stylist was waiting for me there, with a box of clothes.

"Get ready, District 2. Cornucopia is dangerous, even for you," yes, I missed positive. My stylist was most certainly NOT positive.

He pushed me into the clear cylinder. It slowly ascended, letting me breathe fresh air little by little. Soon, sunlight poured into the narrow tube, and I was standing on the surface of the arena. I looked around at my surroundings. It was all forest, except for the Cornucopia, of course. In the Cornucopia, was all that any survivalist could dream for. Tens of backpacks, filled with hidden treasures. Hundreds of weapons, glinting in the fake sunlight. I cracked my knuckles. I wasn't going to miss the chance.

23 other tributes stood in a semi-circle, all equal distance from the gleaming survival heaven. Instinct began to take over me, like a wild animal. I was a wild animal, willing to do anything to survive. I let out a low growl, the minute should have been over by then…

The gong rings loudly, and instinct pulsing inside me, I rush to the nearest knife. Looking around quickly, I saw the retreating figure of Gale sprinting to the trees. When a tribute came near me, I stabbed the knife down, anywhere, I didn't care. Blood spattered my face, and horror filled me as I realized that it was a District 4 boy. A wonderful ally. Cut from my instinct, I looked around quickly. Katniss was racing to the woods, with a bow and arrow, along with a bright orange back pack. Clove was chasing her, a throwing knife in her hand. Why I cared for her, I never knew. I grabbed my own spear, and threw it at the two of them. It hit a tree right in between Clove and Katniss. Clove missed her shot, and the knife landed on a tree next to Katniss. She quickly pulled it out, and kept running.

I was responsible for 7 of the 13 deaths at the Cornucopia. Clove had given up on Katniss. As we met with our remaining allies; all of the Careers except for the boy I killed, confusion washed over me. Why did I care about Katniss? She was just an ally, after all. An especially cute one, but still. I sighed softly so nobody else could hear. I decided to see tonight, while the others were sleeping, contrary to most of my thoughts.

We piled all the gear next to the lake. We had a puny boy from District 3 reset the mines so that is anyone got near our supplies, they would feel the mine… in other words, get blown up. We decided to wander around the arena to find any other Tribute. We were lucky. The smoke from the fire led us straight to a stupid girl. She begged and begged, but I didn't care. Survival of the fittest had a new meaning to me. There was a loud crack in the air when her neck broke.

"I think this is enough," I commanded. I was just afraid that they would target Katniss.

My worst fears were confirmed, "Let's get the 12 girl. She probably isn't a strong enemy, but I want to get rid of her," Clove tilted her head, "It's not too late," she pointed up at the almost setting sun.

"All right," I agreed reluctantly. I had to get over my feelings for her. I just had to.

We tramped through the forest, fearlessly, and loudly. She wasn't anywhere. We eventually found her. She saw us also, and tried to run away. I fought the urge to fight the Careers to save Katniss, but in the end, there was no need.

"Run away," I sneered, my acting lessons which I thought were useless finally paying off, "We're going to get you anyways."

She darted up a tree, pain filling her eyes. Then I saw the burn. It was so disgusting, I had to look away. The other tributes looked up at me for directions.

"I'm going to try to climb the tree. Hand me my spear," I commanded, and Marvel, the District 1 male tribute, handed it to me. I failed to go up even one branch, on purpose. Luckily for them, the Careers had enough sense not to laugh.

"Here, let me try," Clove handed me her knives. She got up a little farther than I did, but in the end, she, too, fell.

"She can't stay up there forever," I pointed out, "Let's wait her out."

They all agreed, so we set up camp under the tree she was in, which made it both easier and harder to get to her.

**Katniss POV**

I was so devastated when Cato betrayed me. I had truly grown to trust him, and thought he actually cared… it was a mistake, I realized that as I sat on a tree branch, pain from the burn preventing me from falling asleep even for one second.

I was dimly conscious when the tree began to shake slightly. I jerked awake, my bowstring pulled immediately.

"It's all right, it's only me," Cato's voice hissed in the darkness.

Fear should have been where my rage was. I was about to release the bow, but I couldn't. it was as if I was paralyzed. I put down my bow. I wanted to cry. Why couldn't I shoot the District 2 tribute? It wasn't like I had known him for a long time. No matter how hard I tried, my thoughts could not let me hold my bow back up, and release the arrow that was in it.

"Only you, yes," the only thing I could manage was sarcasm, "The one who tried to kill me the entire time so far."

"I was trying to protect you. Don't you remember when you told me nobody else could know we were allies? I tried my best, Katniss. I know you would care more if somebody knew then me using my mediocre acting skills to convince them that I didn't care about you!"

"I don't believe you," it took so much control to maintain a calm and icy voice.

"Is that why you can't kill me?" I stiffened. A tear slipped down my cheek. Everything about this was so unfair. Why did Cato have to talk to me in the training hall? And why did I let him? "I have burn medicine, Katniss," he continued, climbing higher, almost level to me.

Burn medicine… it was so tempting. Pain seared on my thigh, the entire reason for my exhaustion. I needed sleep. With this pain, I couldn't get sleep.

Cato didn't wait for a reply. He just came level with me, and handed me the small pot, "Here, Katniss. I don't care if you don't want it, because you need it," seeing my face, he added, "It's not about personal pride. It's about life and death."

I reluctantly took the pot from him, and applied it to the burns the fireballs had caused me. I almost wanted to moan in pleasure; the medicine soothed the burns, cooling it. I only sighed softly. After I finished the soothing medicine on all my burns, I handed it back to Cato.

We just sat there in silence for a while, and then fell asleep. Cato staying with me was the only thing I needed to know that the caring was mutual.

It was dawn when I woke up. Cato was still on the opposite branch. I poked him sharply. He almost fell out of the tree, but I caught him just in time. I looked up, seeing the tracker jacker nest, a sly smile crept on my face.

"What?" Cato whispered when he saw my expression.

"Run away," I smirked, "because hell's about to break loose, and if you don't run far, then you will probably die."

Still seeing the confusion on his face, I pointed at the nest above him. Realization dawned upon his face. And he had enough sense to follow my instructions.

I waited until sunrise to give Cato enough time to distance himself far away from me. At sunrise, I stood up, and sighed with pleasure when I could hardly feel my burns. I climbed up a couple branches, almost level with the tracker jacker next. I silently pulled out my knife, and began sawing at the wood in which the nest was hung. It was fairly loud, and I winced when I received a few stings from the wasp muttations. Ignoring the sharp pain, I kept sawing, and I succeeded. The impact of the ground shattered the nest, right next to the sleeping Careers. A scream pierced the arena as Glimmer woke up.

"Don't just stand there screaming! Run!" Clove yelled, sprinting away, but still receiving stings.

Glimmer tried to stand up, but immediately fell back down again. She screamed at the top of her lungs as half of the infinite swarm attacked her. Her skin swelled up, and when the cannon boomed, she was twice her normal size, green slime exploding out of her. A rotten smell filled the air. The District 4 girl's body was next to her, looking as grotesque. I decided to go down the tree before I fell off. Hallucinations, one of the symptoms of tracker jacker stings, were starting to cloud my mind, and the trees seemed to attack me. Glimmer's eyes seemed to open, her hands grasping mine, covering them with green slime.

I collapsed the stress and smell weakening me. I heard footsteps running towards me, and a desperate voice calling my name. I lifted my hands, not caring if it died…

**Cato POV**

I heard the tracker jackers on the other side of the arena. When I saw the swarm and the Careers sprinting past me, with the deadly insects in pursuit, I knew it was safe to go back to Katniss. It was lucky for her that I did. She was falling next to the freakish bodies of Glimmer and the District 4 girl.

"Katniss! Get up!" I yelled desperately, not caring if anyone found me, "You have to!"

She lifted her hands weakly, and then dropped them limply. There was only one other choice. I knew that if the surviving Careers found her here, they would kill her immediately. I carried her, running, to a cave I had discovered earlier.

I had trained in medicine a little bit, because it interested me slightly. I grabbed some random effective herbal leaves, chewed them up, and put it on her stings. I knew there was some medicine in our supplies but I wasn't going to risk going back to the pile now, then leaving again. It would be too suspicious. So I just continued using my makeshift medicine. A couple hours later, she woke up, drowsily blinking her grey eyes open. When she saw me and the cave, her mouth opened, I silenced her by putting my finger up to her lips. A bold move, in my part, but I didn't care.

"Where am I?" she whispered.

"I couldn't have you stay there, defenseless," I replied nonchalantly, "It's all right. It isn't that far," I lied. It was about 3 miles from the tree where she had been.

"Liar," a smile played on her lips, "I saw this cave yesterday, "It's very far from the tree," before I could respond, she kissed me quickly, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," I replied, smiling, before kissing her again, for a longer time.

At that moment, I realized something. I would never be able to kill this girl.

**A/N: Aw, isn't that sweet? They finally kissed! I tried to make Cato violent, but I really couldn't, because of Katniss. I know I had way too much Cato in this, but he had to be in here. That doesn't mean I love him, though! ;) REVIEW, people! **


	5. Chapter 5: Adrenaline

Chapter 5

**A/N: I know I'm really terrible, I haven't updated in ages! *cowers from punches* Really sorry, guys. Anyways, I've rewritten this chapter over and over again!**

**Rue**

I swore to protect him with my life. The moment I saw him getting reaped, his eyes full of fear, I knew I would never let him die, over my dead body. I didn't realize how hopeless my vow was.

"Leo, I think there's something wrong… come back, we can get the berries later," I persuaded the best I could.

"Come on, it's the best bush of berries I've seen in ages, let's get some real food, Rue!" he protested, giving me the cute look.

"Leo, I mean it this time. I won't fall for your cute expression," I snapped, desperation creeping into my voice, "Don't you dare-"

"I dared," he smiled, popping a sweet berry into his mouth.

"Leo!" I screamed.

I saw what happened before it really did. The spear flew out of nowhere, but it didn't matter who threw it. Leo gasped, before falling to the ground, pulling it out. Blood poured out of the wound. I immediately raced to his side, pressing my jacket on the wound. I knew he had no chance. A stomach wound, the most painful and slow death with a spear.

"It's going to be all right, Leo. I promise," I reassured.

"Rue," he whispered, "Please don't lie to me," I opened my mouth to reply, but he went on, "I can see the angels up there, Rue."

I couldn't hold back my tears anymore, "What else?" I murmured, "What else can you see, Leo? Is it beautiful?"

"It's radiant," his voice grew fainter; "I see golden gates, and huge palaces."

I nodded, holding back a sob, "I hope you'll be happy there."

He looked up at me intensely, his brown eyes shining, and then they went blank. I let out a soft sob, burying my head in his chest. He was only twelve. He didn't deserve to die. A cannon boomed in the distance, signaling Leo's death.

"I'll never forget you," I whispered, before standing up and leaving his body… forever.

It was obvious they would target me next, the girl who was desperate enough to ally with a twelve year old boy. I was right. The first wave of spears shot around me at around noon. One of them flew straight past my ear, another right above my head.

The next wave came, mostly aiming for my midsection. I decided to just ignore them; I really didn't care if I died. At least I would be able to see Leo again.

"Cato!" a loud female voice suddenly screamed, "Stop! I won't let you throw another spear at her! We did enough. I don't want to hurt her anymore."

"Katniss," a male sighed, "This is the Hunger Games. It's about killing, don't you get it? The only way to survive is to kill."

"I know, but…" the female stammered, "I'm not that cruel."

"You have to be!" he growled, frustration creeping into his voice, "I don't want you to die, and I will kill everyone else if that is what it takes for you and I to get out of this arena."

"Rue, run!" the female yelled, "His adrenaline just started, and if you don't run, you are dead!"

I didn't know why I did it. However, I bolted away from the area as Katniss had commanded me. I could hear Cato chasing after me, and I knew I wouldn't be able to outrun him.

"Stop!" he yelled, "You know you have no chance!"

I already knew that, so I started to slow down. I could just imagine the smug smile on Cato's face as he stabbed the spear into my stomach. Glee, triumph, a big smirk on his face. Suddenly, a huge rope hitting my face shattered my image.

"Hurry, climb!" a male voice urged.

He didn't have to ask twice. I immediately darted up the rope like a monkey, leaving Cato, whom couldn't climb because of his enormous size.

"Thank you," I leaned heavily against the trunk, "I thought I would die right there. Who are you anyways? I've never seen you before," I squinted up at the higher branches.

"I've seen you, though," he replied, jumping lightly to the branch I was sitting on.

He had brown hair, and brown eyes. He looked quite strong, and intelligent. I sucked in a breath. I had to admit, he was breathtaking.

"Nice to meet you," he smiled, sticking out his hand, which I shook, "I'm Gale Hawthorne."

I narrowed my eyes in concentration. I vaguely remembered that he was from District 2, but that was about it. What was his training score? What was his history? I decided not to ask, even though my curiosity was burning.

"So, why did you save me?" I asked.

"I saw how much you protected Leo. I was really touched by that," he replied naturally, "It's not a quality you see much in the Games."

Suddenly, I remembered everything about him. I knew he had volunteered, for his friend? It didn't seem like it. The blonde boy had looked like he was seeing Gale for the first time. But why would he volunteer then? He had no reason.

"Why did you volunteer during the reaping?" I blurted out before I could stop myself. I groaned inwardly. Me and my big mouth.

He stiffened, and I knew it was a difficult topic for him, "I volunteered because of a friend," he spoke slowly, choosing his words carefully, "I didn't want him to die."

"Him?" I raised an eyebrow skeptically, "That boy looked like he had no idea who you were."

"Fine," he snapped angrily, and I flinched, "I volunteered to protect my best friend, Katniss. I couldn't let her fight in the games alone!"

I tried not to stare had him, gaping. He had volunteered to die so his best friend could live? The cameras were probably sucking this all in. I didn't probe. I knew the Gamemakers wanted that. And they weren't going to get it.

**Cato **

It was almost sunset when we arrived at the cave again.

My adrenaline was gone. Every bit of it. After Rue had climbed up that rope, it had disappeared, and it almost felt like a breeze through my entire body. I ached so badly, and in the cave, Katniss applied leaves to soothe my pain.

"Cato, please. Next time, be a little more peaceful. All these tributes are innocent," she pleaded.

"Until they start killing, like me," I finished, sighing as the leaves took away my aches, "Katniss, do you understand that I would do anything for you so that you can win these games?"

"I know," she whispered, "That's why love you," I smiled and kissed her lightly.

"And I know you would do the same for me, which is why we both have to win," I concluded, taking the chance to kiss her again. I swore she was rolling her eyes, but to my pleasure, kissed me back.

"Sometimes I wonder what my life would be without you," she murmured, "So part of me is glad that I got reaped, even though I know the dangers."

"I love you, Katniss," I whispered , settling down to go to sleep, "I really do."

She only hesitated a moment before replying swiftly back, "I love you too, Cato."

**A/N: I have to admit, the ending was gushy, but it'll get better, I had a writer's block! :( Anyways, I swear the next chapter will be more interesting. I also know that Gale/Rue wasn't very full. Please review, no matter how bad this was!**


	6. Chapter 6: Betrayal

Chapter 6

**A/N: I'll try to update a little more frequently. I know chapter 5 was disappointing, especially after such a long wait. Chapter 6 will have more interesting things in it. This chapter will include Gale's thoughts about everything that happened so far, emotional breakdowns, and Careers…**

**Gale**

"_You didn't have to this, Gale," Katniss sighed, throwing her things on the ground, "I would rather die knowing that you're safe."_

"_I already explained this, Katniss," I snapped, "You would do the same for me."_

"_You're only making everything worse!" she burst into tears, "I dream about Prim and Mother getting attacked by the Capitol! I'm afraid, even though I never show it!"_

"_Katniss…" I tried to keep my voice steady, "If I saw you on television, killing yourself because I didn't do anything to protect you, I would die of shame and grief."_

"_I would have you die in emotional pain than in humiliation in front of all the districts and the Capitol, in the arena, all laughing at you," she screamed, "I swear I won't let you protect me. I swear I'll find someone else," I widened my eyes, "And you should do the same. Because we're both going to die if we don't try to protect ourselves, not each other."_

"_Katniss-" she slammed the door in my face, racing away, "You can't change my mind."_

But I did. When I saw her one day on the roof, with the District 2 male, I knew I had to. There was only one way to protect her, and that was to pretend that I didn't care. I just decided the best thing to do was just to make myself a target, which I had failed at. She would never change her mind.

"_Where am I?" Katniss whispered._

"_I couldn't have you stay there, defenseless," Cato replied nonchalantly, "It's all right. It isn't that far," he had lied. It was about 3 miles from the tree where she had been._

"_Liar," a smile played on her lips, "I saw this cave yesterday, "It's very far from the tree," she kissed District 2 quickly, "Thank you."_

"_You're welcome," he replied, smiling, before kissing her again, for a longer time._

_I watched from a tree, staring into the entrance of the cave. I didn't know what to think. Katniss hadn't been joking. Now, she was in love with this murderer. I shook my head, disgusted, unable to think about what I had just seen. _

"_Katniss… how could you do this to us? How could you do this everyone?" I felt so much anger, "How could you betray us all? You betrayed our district. I don't get it."_

_I dropped out of the tree, and checked my trap beneath the roots. A rabbit had been trapped. I carefully took out its body. It had just been caught, and it was still alive. I carefully held it in my hands. With its innocent dark brown eyes, it looked up at me, as if wondering why I was helping it. I sighed. I couldn't kill it, no matter how hungry I was. I ripped out a couple leaves from a nearby bush, and wrapped the paw, where it had been caught, tightly with the leaves._

"_It's all right. I'll take care of you. It's just the two of us now, all right?" I whispered. The rabbit looked up at me again._

My head was reeling, my breathing hard. Rue was still asleep in my arms, though she began to stir. I stayed still, until she calmed down again. I sighed, closing my eyes.

_I saw her when Katniss was begging Cato to be less violent. I felt so much anger. She was such a hypocrite. I saw when Cato's adrenaline started, and Katniss screaming for Rue to get away. I knew such a small girl would have no chance against the massive monster. That was why I dropped the rope, risking a perfectly fine, thick, trapping rope, just to save her. _

_Why? She had the eyes of the rabbit I had trapped. Dark brown, fearful, and innocent. I had a feeling that she had not killed anybody. She kept asking me questions, and then suddenly stopped, as if she knew I was uncomfortable. _

I blinked my eyes open, and stroked Thumper, the bunny who had been named by Rue, after a character from an ancient movie, Bambi. He seemed so much happier now.

"Cato?" Rue suddenly asked, as I almost jumped.

"Sorry, I didn't know you were awake," I apologized.

She nodded, "I was awake a long time ago. I knew you were awake too."

"Let's see if we can survive another day," I yawned, sitting up and stretching, "May the odds ever be in our favor."

**Katniss**

Another day. More dangers. More death, and more violence. And in the middle, me and Cato. The thought just wanted me to cry.

I imagined the District 11 girl, older than me and Cato, yet full of fear of us. I didn't want to think that we were creating the fear in the arena. And Gale… I heard him yesterday. At least he was alive. But I was still afraid. Was he all right? Was my promise to stay alive, without him, be the same for him? Would he survive? The thought made me sick inside.

His voice calling me so many times, trying to protect me, even in the secure Capitol. And now, he knew he couldn't do anything. So was this my life? Replacing Gale for Cato, handsomer, stronger, and better protection. But did Cato love me like Gale did? Was it just an act?

_You can't think like that, Katniss. He loves you. And you love him. _Tears did come, this time. I secretly thanked no god in particular that he wasn't awake.

I could still feel his kisses on my body, feather light, ironic for somebody so aggressive. I didn't care. I loved him so much. If I had to, I would die for him. I would do anything for him. This was love. Unstoppable and eternal. I smiled when I saw he was still shirtless.

"It's sunrise, love," I decided to wake him up, "I'm getting bored!"

He groaned as I kissed him lightly, "Katniss, you are amazing," I rolled my eyes.

"Just get up, Cato. We might get ambushed,"

"I don't care if the Capitol comes and tries to bomb us. As long as I have this woman with me, I wouldn't know if the Capitol was destroyed," he replied, flipping over, so I was on bottom.

"Please, maybe tonight," I sighed as he pressed a kiss behind my ear, "I know, I want to do it, but we're in something called the Hunger Games."

"You're right," he jumped lightly up, and put his shirt on, "Maybe tonight."

We hunted until about noon, when we did get ambushed.

"Don't go any further," a female voice called, "or if you try to run away, prepare to feel a knife in your stomach. I heard you're a fan of stomach wounds, Cato."

"Clove," he hissed.

"You know that law in our District 2 Codes that says 'Betray thine district, and prepare to breathe your last?' Prepare to breathe your last, Cato. I really don't care if we were friends before. because we sure aren't friends anymore. Trust me."

Cato sucked in a breath, "Clove, I'm sorry. I had to do this. Don't you understand that I had to live? And Katniss was my best bet."

"So you left me to fend for myself?" she sounded close to tears, "You're life doesn't mean anything anymore. Don't you get that this has nothing to do with your life anymore? It's only the Capitol now. The moment we got reaped, we're the Capitol's pawns. Though we might not know it, they control us. When they send a fire south, we try to escape the area. We don't stay there. We move. I don't care about your romance with Fire Girl. She could go to hell, for all I care," I gasped, "I just want to know why you would betray me for her."

"I'm sorry, Clove. I thought you would stop me," he sighed, "Really."

"The rest of the remaining Careers rejected me because you rejected me," she replied, disgusted, "I didn't fight back. I never liked them anyways. I was better off alone."

"Clove!" Cato suddenly bellowed.

I spun around, but it was too late. A spear pierced her from behind, and she fell to the ground, pulling it out. I let out a cry of dismay, as Cato kneeled next to her.

"It's okay, I'm here, Clove. It's all right," he whispered.

She stared up at her friend, grabbing his hands, "Stay alive," she whispered, "Don't join me soon. Please. I don't want to see you. Yet," Cato's breathing was heavy, as if he was trying to stop himself from crying, "and keep Katniss alive."

"Why me?" I asked softly, unable to hold my own tears, for reasons I couldn't understand.

Her eyes turned to me, "You don't deserve anything. You only helped Cato survive. I was wrong. He never abandoned me."

"No, Clove," Cato whimpered.

Her eyes went blank, and Clove Sotelo was gone. The cannon sounded from the distance.

"Good bye."

**Rue**

I had never seen the District 2 girl in the arena until now. But right now, even the fiercest of killers in the arena, seemed so much like the innocent and young Leo. I knew what it meant when they said that you learned most when you were dying. A pit in my stomach that had been growing during every death I saw grew larger. The monster suddenly seemed… human as he sat next to his fellow tribute.

"I hope you meet Leo there, Clove," I whispered, and swung away, back to Gale, who was waiting, to comfort me.

**A/N: What a short Rue POV! But I think that was fine. What did you think, guys? I think this was better than Chapter 5, that's for sure. Please, please review! I'll be back with chapter 7 soon! ;) **


	7. Chapter 7: The Capitol Trick

Chapter 7: The Capitol Trick

**A/N: I didn't think this chapter would be in this story until today. Has a little Gale/Katniss. Hope you like it. Most of it will be in Cato or Rue's POV, but had a little Gale POV. Disclaimer for all the chapter in this story: All characters, and anything else familiar belongs to the amazing Suzanne Collins!**

"The games are moving on very slowly this year," Claudius Templesmith commented to his Gamemakers, who were working furiously, "We have to speed it up."

"It's because of the strong alliances forming, sir," one of them replied, "Especially the one between the District 2 male and the District 12 female."

"Don't forget 12 boy and 11 girl," another one reminded, "This is the biggest group of alliances I've ever seen."

"Gamemakers!" Claudius called, "We must separate these alliances, or use them to our advantage. First, we will try to destroy these alliances, as it will be great entertainment. If that doesn't work, we will enhance them. Either way, this year will be very entertaining."

**Cato**

After two nights, I still felt dazed that Katniss- my angel- loved me. My heart felt so light. She was sleeping soundly in my arms. There were 7 tributes left. I counted them off in my head. District 1: Marvel. District 2: Me. District 5: The girl Katniss called "Foxface" . District 11: Rue and Thresh. District 12: Katniss and Gale.

Only 5 more to kill. Then we would escape.

"Good morning, love," Katniss stretched, blinking her gray eyes open.

"Good morning," I replied swiftly, before kissing her, "Ready for another day in the arena?"

Katniss checked the traps on the east side of the cave, I checked the west. I could barely get my large fingers to reset the traps as she had taught me, but I managed this time.

"Cato!" a voice hissed I my ear, and I spun around, wielding my spear.

"Who's there?" I called threateningly.

"It's Clove," the voice hissed again, "You have to help me!"

"She's dead," I replied coldly, "I saw her die with my own eyes."

"You're right, I am dead," the voice sighed sadly, and I realized the voice was hers, "But my soul can never be free. They put my body in a lake!"

"The lake where all the Career supplies were?" I asked, confused, "How would they do that?"

"Of course not!" the voice snapped, "In another one. I don't know where. All I know is that my body must be freed. Please, Cato," she sounded close to tears now.

"All right," I agreed, "I'll try. You deserve at least that much," I couldn't believe was going to help a voice instead of protecting myself.

When Katniss heard what I was going to do, she was furious. She paced the cave, as I cooked the meat we had found from the traps. Well, it was only her who found something. I practically demolished every piece of food in the traps because of my thoughts about Clove/

"Cato," she seemed to have a hard time controlling herself, "It's hard enough to survive without any other distractions."

"I have to do it. She was my best friend. I can't let her poor soul wander forever in this arena. That would be too cruel. Please Katniss, I promise it won't take long."

"You don't even know where the freaking lake is!" she snapped in frustration, "It's like racing a squirrel up a tree. It's impossible."

"I know I can do it," I replied softly, "If I die, do you promise to try to win by yourself?"

"I can't promise that," she retorted, her voice suddenly cracking, "I love you too much, Cato. I wish I had that much determination…"

I cut her off with long kiss, and she didn't' say anything, "You will try," I commanded fiercely, "I will come back. And when I do, we can have a long night."

"I know what you mean by that," she smiled, "I'll hope, Cato."

"Of course you will," I smirked, and I swore I could see her rolling her eyes.

**Rue**

I could still hear Leo's desperate voice in my head.

"_Please Rue, please help me! I can't see the angels anymore!"_

I sighed, and barely held back tears. When I had seen him die in happiness, I thought he would be happy for eternity, not for less than a week! Why was the world so cruel? I sucked in a deep breath. I had to be strong. I knew where the hidden lake was. I had to save my poor baby. I stood up, and continued walking through the dense forest.

I had to admit, the lake had looked better at night, when the moonlight's reflection had caused it to shimmer. It was still beautiful, however. I stared into the lake, hoping to see some trace of any body or person. However, the dirty waters did not reveal anything. I took a deep breath, took off all my clothes except for a tank top and underwear, and dove in the cold lake.

The one abundant thing in District 11 had been water, used for irrigation. I was still an experienced swimmer, from the days in the rivers and lakes, very much like the one I was swimming in right now. The deeper I swam, the clearer the water became. I had no idea how deep this lake was, but I kept swimming. The first body I found was the District 1 female. She looked exactly like she had been, except all the stings were gone. She looked perfect. I moved her body a little to go down deeper. A few feet later, I found Leo's body. I grabbed it quickly, I needed air. I swam up to the surface as fast as possible, and sucked in great gasps of air. I looked around once, and when I saw there was nobody there, pulled myself and Leo's body to dry land. Suddenly, I felt something drag me backwards. I shrieked when I saw it was the District 1 female… but she had a tail.

I screamed, as I was dragged into the water again.

**Cato**

I knew I had to help her when I heard the screams. She sounded too desperate to ignore. Racing towards the scream, my conscience was twisted with horror with how weak I had become. And where was the District 11 girl? In a lake. Suddenly, I felt glad I had chased her.

"What are you doing here?" I shouted.

"I'll tell you. Just get me out of here!" she screamed back. She was fighting with some creature… with the face of Glimmer, and a tail.

Glimmer was a mermaid? What was going on? I didn't understand anything, except that I had to get the girl out of the lake. I plunged in with all my clothing, and joined the aquatic fight. Glimmer the mermaid was stronger than the human Glimmer, and I could barely get her off District 11. I pulled out a knife, and stabbed it into its chest. I cringed from the terrible shriek it emitted as it died.

"Thank you," the girl whispered softly, tears glistening in her brown eyes. My heart ached when I realized it was the girl who had been protecting the 12 year old. Had she come to save his soul as well?

My question was answered when I saw his body on land. She whimpered softly when she saw me looking at his body.

"I won't take him," I snapped roughly, "Why would I want a nobody's corpse?"

"He wasn't a nobody to me," she whispered.

I stiffened, "Then what is he? Some celebrity?" I asked sarcastically, trying to hide my regret, "Yeah right. He's just another tribute that everyone will forget."

"I was wrong to think that the girl changed you," she sighed, "You're still that tyant like all Careers are, so full of themselves," she added scathingly.

"I have changed," I snarled, "I wouldn't have saved you if I hadn't."

She shrugged, "Why are you even here?" she sniffled, "My job's done."

Suddenly, out of the water, a head popped up. More specifically, Clove's head. District 11 shrieked, and I froze immediately.

"You came," she whispered, and dragged me into the water, "And you're coming in deeper, love."

I punched her as she dragged me swiftly into the water.

**Gale**

Rue had been gone for hours. What was going on? Suddenly, I felt the tree shake, and stiffened, until I saw it was Katniss.

"Katniss!" I yelled, my eyes widening, "I haven't seen you for ages!"

"Gale," she whispered, burying her head in my shirt, and when it got wet, I realized she was crying, "I was so worried. I'm so sorry! I had to ally myself with Cato, the Capitol forced me to, but I didn't mean

"It's okay, Catnip," I murmured, stroking her hair, "Everything's fine."

"I betrayed everyone at home, it's not okay!" she sobbed, "The entire District 12 must hate me for betraying them. The Capitol forced me to… they knew what would happen, and they wanted a show!"

"What?" I asked in disbelief, "They forced you to ally with District 2?"

"Yes, that was why I was so nice to him in the training hall," she replied sadly, "but I realized I really loved him. He changed because of me, and he cared about me."

I nodded, not able to say anything for the moment. My hatred towards the Capitol grew every second. They had forced my best friend to ally herself with someone? Even though she had fallen in love…

Suddenly, I felt soft lips on my own, and I realized Katniss was _kissing _me. I didn't protest, I responded immediately, kissing her back fully. When we pulled apart, we were both panting.

"I couldn't stop myself. I needed somebody," she explained miserably, "I'm so pathetic. I want to die… I let Cato go all by himself."

"He'll be fine," I promised, praying that Rue would be fine too.

**Rue**

I jumped in the water to save Cato. The fight seemed endless, the mermaid of the District 2 female seemed about 10 times stronger than the District 1 mermaid. Even Cato seemed to be struggling to stay alive.

"You seem to be having an easy time," another male voice snapped sarcastically, "Fighting a mermaid is quite a blast, isn't it?"

"Marvel," Cato gasped, "This was all your fault."

When the mermaid faced Marvel, Cato swiftly plunged his knife into her back, and there was a earsplitting scream as the District 2 mermaid died, black blood flowing from her wound. Cato crawled out of the lake, kicking Leo's body into the water, to my horror.

"This is between us two," Cato snarled, "You killed Clove."

"These are the Hunger Games," Marvel sneered, "I knew if you allied with her too, you would kill me in revenge for Clove."

"I can kill you alone," Cato spat, and leaped onto the other male, "You're nothing but a luxurious, pathetic, weakling!" he punched him in the stomach, leaving Marvel gasping, clutching his middle.

After a moment, Marvel, slowly stood up, glaring at Cato, "If I can't kill you, I'm killing that girl," I didn't realize he meant me until it was too late. I screamed as the spear entered my body.

"NO!" Cato roared, and yanked his knife out of Clove's body, which had floated to the shore, "You're over!" he plunged the knife into Marvel's back, who was laughing maniacally.

I was dying. I could feel it. I grabbed Cato's hand, his eyes glittering with tears. I didn't know why he was sad, but he was.

"I hope you see Leo," he sighed, "I'm sorry about everything."

He had changed. I nodded once, my strength draining out of my body. A tear rolled down his face. My breathing became more labored.

"Good… good bye," I managed to gasp.

A vision flashed in my head. Leo, with his angels. He was there. I breathed one last time. Everything became dark.

**A/N: Rue died. Marvel did too. I know, mermaids. I just had to choose them, but I just watched Pirates of the Caribbean On Stranger Tides again… and it has mermaids in it! There are now 5 tributes left. Anyways, what did you think of Katniss' confession? Review people! **


	8. Chapter 8: The Connection is Broken

Chapter 8: The Connection is Broken

**A/N: I'm so, so, so sorry for the long update. I had a recital, and got my laptop taken away. The Games are only the beginning. This chapter will introduce the real story. **

**Disclaimer: SC owns THG. **

**Katniss POV**

There were 5 tributes left. Two died last night, one of them the girl whom Gale had loved. We slept together on his tree, staring up at the sky with worry, afraid that we wouldn't see our loved ones again. Cato was alive. But Rue wasn't.

"It's my fault!" Gale punched the tree trunk, leaving his knuckles bloody, "I shouldn't have let her go for some stupid dream she had, but I was so weak that I couldn't say no!"

"Gale, stop," I grabbed his hand before he could punch the tree again; "It wasn't your fault."

I knew he suspected Cato of killing her, and half of me thought the same thing. Agreeing with Gale about Cato was dangerous, however. If I said something like that, I could kill Cato and myself.

"It was," he growled, "I know it was. If I hadn't let her go-"

"Shut up!" I screamed with fury. That was the last straw, "I can't stand your whining anymore. I'm trying to help you, but you won't let me!" I stomped away into the woods, without looking where I was going.

The weather wasn't as bad as it was yesterday. It was still very warm, but not hot. I didn't know where I was going. I just knew I had to get away. If Gale wanted to think about himself that way, fine. He could kill himself for all I cared. He was nothing now. Cato was mine, whether he was the right person or not.

That was when I heard the yelling of male voices. I froze. Cato and Thresh were the only male tributes left, apart from Gale. I immediately sprinted toward the sounds.

"You killed the girl!" a deep voice boomed, and I realized it was Thresh, "She did nothing wrong, she didn't kill anyone in the Hunger Games!"

"I didn't kill her," Cato snapped, "Marvel did, and I killed him."

I slowly snuck up on the fighting pair, and barely hid a gasp. Cato looked so weak against the huge giant. He had gashes all over his body, and looked exhausted. I didn't want to kill Thresh. He had done nothing to us, but I had to. With shaking fingers, I notched an arrow on my bow, and pulled the bow string. I sucked in a breath, but I couldn't release the string. I couldn't kill the one who was killing my love. Tears streamed down my face. What had I turned into?I bit my lip, my hands shaking. I couldn't hold on much longer. Holding back tears, I let go of the arrow.

Somehow, the arrow managed to hit Thresh on his back. He spun around towards my direction, and I shot up a tree as fast as I could. Thresh took a few huge steps toward my tree, then collapsed, blood pouring out of the arrow would. He coughed weakly a few times, then lay still.

There was only silence for a long time, until panic started rising in my chest. Had Thresh killed Cato after all? A tear slid down my cheek. I didn't know why I was afraid to climb down the tree, it was only me, Gale, and Foxface left. My mouth wouldn't open to speak. More time passed. My heart felt like it would tear apart. There had been no cannon, or had I not heard it? More tears. I realized that there had been no cannon for Thresh's death either. I couldn't move at all, and breathing became harder. I thought I had been sitting on the tree branch for years before I heard movement beneath me.

"Katniss? Are you there?" I heard Cato ask softly, "What's going on?"

I literally jumped off the tree into his arms. He kissed me softly on my neck, making me moan softly. I buried my head in his chest, my arms wrapped around his neck. I could live again. Cato was here, and nothing else mattered.

"Cato?" I whispered.

"Yes?" he responded.

"I think I said this already, but," I smiled, "I love you."

**Gale POV**

By sunset, my knuckles were completely, and almost disgustingly, bloody. The tree was barely hurt, the only signs of my hitting blood on the bark. I sighed, burying my head in my hands. Gathering the healing leaves as Katniss' mother had taught me was difficult, but I managed when I thought of Rue. I knew she wanted me to win. I treated my bloody hands, and finally settled down on the tree. It felt completely deserted without Rue, but I knew I had to keep going. I would kill Cato, Thresh, and Foxface.

The sky was empty, there were no deaths today. Though I felt relieved for some reason, I couldn't ignore the gnawing feeling of suspicion in my stomach. Was there really no death today?

**Cato POV**

Katniss and I sat in front of the cave, watching the sky for the daily broadcast of deaths. Thresh's body lay rotting on the ground a little deeper into the woods. However, there was no broadcast. The night sky remained the same. Katniss squeezed my hand tighter, and I could tell she was worried. I tried to hide my worry, but failed.

"What's going on?" she whispered, pressing closer to me, "There's at least one person dead."

"I don't know," I replied back, "but we're alive. That's what matters, right?" I kissed her softly, "because nothing matters as long as we get out of this place together."

She nodded, "I'm just afraid that they won't let that happen."

Suddenly, a booming voice filled the arena, "Tributes, this will be my last message to you all. Work together to find your way out. The only way out is to cooperate. However, none of you will make it out, unless you do as we tell you to do. Our one order is this. Find President Snow."

Static blared loudly, and everything became quiet again.

"How are we supposed to find President Snow if we're stuck in here?" I yelled up to the fake sky. There was no answer, "Oh fine then. We'll just live on animals that don't belong here, under a fake sun, moon, and clouds."

"Shhh, Cato," Katniss murmured, "We can do this. We just need to find President Snow, and we'll be out of this arena, all together. Nobody has to die. He's in here somewhere, and the arena has to end somewhere."

"I wish I could be as positive as you are, Katniss," I smiled, kissing her neck, like I always did, "I guess I'll have to learn."

**A/N: Quite paradoxical ending, isn't it? It's tense, but Katniss and Cato are happy, sort of. What do you guys think of the new "mission?" Is Foxface alive? Since school is over, I can update soon. REVIEW people! ;)**


	9. Chapter 9: Confusing Explanations

Chapter 9: Confusing Explanations

**A/N: I'm so sorry for the long wait, I know I lied. I was so busy, planning different stories, etc. Hope you enjoy this chapter, though. There's going to be a lot of talking in this chapter. I decided to include a Finch (Foxface) POV. So she is alive. XD**

**SC owns THG. I repeat, SC owns THG, NOT me!**

**Finch POV**

Fear grasped my chest when I heard the Seneca Crane's message. All this time, the only way I had survived is by working, and being alone. Now, this Capitol man that had been controlling me during the entire games shattered that.

Now I had to choose who I trusted more. The boy who had injured himself by punching trees, or the girl who could shoot any target, and the powerful boy. There really was no competition. I quickly sprinted to the girl and boy's cave.

"Who are you?" the boy asked, like I predicted.

"I'm Finch," I took a deep breath; the boy looked stronger up close than from a distance, "Seneca Crane said we have to work together."

"I know that, girl! "the boy snapped, deliberately not using my name, "Why don't you work with Gale or whatever?" from the corner of my eye, I noticed the girl with the braid flinched at Gale's name.

"Was Gale the one who was punching trees and bloodying himself?" I asked innocently, and the girl winced.

"Yes," the boy growled.

"Well, he really did seem like a great person to work with in a life or death situation," I smirked, sarcasm dripping in my voice.

I knew I had won the argument. The boy narrowed his eyes, "Fine then," he glared when he saw my triumphant look, "If we find that you're nothing but trouble, then we will kill you."

I nodded, secretly rolling my eyes.

"Cato, there's no need to be that harsh," the girl spoke for the first time, "We're working together now. There's really no point of killing or fighting."

He nodded grudgingly, "Fine, I won't kill you. Just don't be trouble."

"I get it," I muttered under my breath.

"Well, we better get going," Katniss sighed, and we set off.

"Why are we here?" Cato asked tightly, "I don't think President Snow has gills."

The three of us were at lake, not the one where the Careers used to hide their supplies, but one that was more secluded and small, hidden in deeper trees. I stared at him. Cato sounded fairly… scared, which was one adjective I didn't use with him.

"Obviously. If President Snow had gills, then his doctors would have found out precisely in the year of-" I began, but was interrupted by Katniss's hand.

"Finch, please don't launch into one of your lectures again," she smiled, "They teach us a lot, but I don't know how long this one will last."

I blushed. Katniss had interrupted me every time I started a lecture after learning her lesson with the lecture about the poisonous toxins of nightlock when Cato was about to eat one.

"I was still wondering why President Snow might be here," Cato repeated.

"Well," I replied carefully, "I was fishing here in this lake a little while ago, and I swam underwater. The thing is, there's a path underground small hole on the side of the lake. I put my hand into it, and it was dry, and there was air in it. it seemed to stretch a little farther, and expand, so I was thinking there has to be something under this arena. By the way the dirt expanded, my calculations would be that the dirt expanded 3 feet every mile. Which would mean, in a little more than two miles from that point, there's enough room for a man about the size of President Snow to stand comfortably."

"So we just dig," Katniss tilted her head, waiting for an answer.

"It's not that simple," I replied, "In theory, the arena is made of solid rock. This tunnel is the only part that's dirt and earth. Which means we can't dig, because it would be basically digging through solid rock."

"You're wasting a whole lot of theory on this," Cato pointed out.

"It's not just theory," I retorted, "You the day when the DNA mermaids came? The mermaids came from the same side as the hole, and with calculations of velocity and leap height, I concluded that came from around the same depth as the hole that I found."

"That's stupid," Cato snapped, "I saw the mermaids. They're bigger than some hole."

"Yes," I smiled slyly, "but you see, the mermaids are made of a dead tribute's DNA, but nothing else in them is anything that was alive. you see, the mermaids are basically robots, with human DNA. They're quite useful, but they're robots, nevertheless."

"What?" shock filled Cato's face, "They're not robots!"

"What are you talking about?" Katniss asked blankly.

"You see, the day when Cato left to find 'Clove,' he found mermaids instead," I explained, "He ran into some mermaids that looked like Clove and Glimmer. He fought them with Rue, the District 11 girl, but after, she was killed by Marvel, and then Cato-"

"Wait, you were there?" Cato interrupted angrily, "Why didn't you help me?"

My breath got caught in my throat. I trusted Cato, but I didn't trust him enough to tell him what happened that day. I shook my head.

"I was already… occupied," I quickly replied, then winced at how wrong that sounded.

Cato laughed, apparently getting that feeling also, "Well, well, little girly had some fun, didn't she?"

"You just couldn't let that go," I snapped, annoyed and embarrassed.

"Cato you know that's now what she means," Katniss scolded, but even she had to crack a smile, "She's not old enough for that, and she's smart enough to know that."

"So after you all left, I dissected a mermaid's body, and found out that they had been assembled not too long ago," I barely stopped myself from launching into a lecture about robots and the parts they need, and finding out about how old they were, "The mostly likely explanation was that the robots were released into the water piece by piece, and assembled in the water. What I also found out was that there were voice boxes next to your cave, next to Gale's tree, and next to the Career pile where Marvel was, and attached to your jackets. That's how they projected the voices of Clove, Glimmer, and Leo."

"Just stop explaining tell us how we're going to get in the hole. You're making my head hurt," Cato groaned in fake agony.

"All right," I agreed, "to get in the cave, we have to swim underwater, and use these," I pulled three deactivated bombs out of my pocket.

**Gale POV**

I stared openmouthed at the threesome. The red-haired girl, whatever her name was, was brilliant. The only catch was now to get to the hole first, and blow it up before they did, so they would all die, President Snow, Cato, Katniss, and the red-haired girl. And then I would win the games, and become the next president.

Gale smiled. Seneca Crane had made a huge mistake of telling him of the plans. Now, Gale would have his revenge on the Capitol, and his enemies as well.

**A/N: Wow, Gale's evil now! (Yes, I planned this from the start. I don't like Gale.) So who will bomb the arena first? Dun dun dun! XD **


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